Through December 11, the museum is presenting “Pop’d From The Panel,” a exploration of how comics and cartoon art have influenced the modern pop-art movement. The nearly 20 artists with works in the exhibit include provocative Mexican-born Enrique Chagoya, modern “street artist” Ron English, and such iconic contemporary figures as Roy Lichtenstein, Gottfried Helnwein, Andy Warhol, Wayne Thiebaud, and Christo. There are 26 two- and three-dimensional works in the exhibition, which is in the Downstairs Changing Gallery.

One of Santa Rosa’s most famous residents, the late Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz is the subject of one of the city’s most enduring attractions, the Schulz Museum. This 27,000-square-foot museum and research center contains more than 7,000 original Schulz strips as well as outdoor gardens, and a theater with regularly scheduled events and programming.

Charles M. Schulz Museum

2011

A Cartoon Art Museum Examines Its Intersection With Fine Art

May 19, 2011—Santa Rosa, California

The juncture of comic art and fine art is investigated in the Charles M. Schulz Museum’s newest exhibition, Pop’d from the Panel. The works of Roy Lichtenstein, Gottfried Helnwein, Andy Warhol, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Richard Pettibone highlight the role of appropriation and representation at the intersection of these artistic realms. Running from June 25 through December 11, 2011, the exhibition features 26 works by 18 artists.

Pop’d from the Panel evaluates the personal nature of popular imagery, as each artist draws from the comic art vernacular to make a statement or reframe a conversation. Familiar faces like Superman, Mickey Mouse, and Snoopy are used to tackle topics from personal to political, as artists Mel Ramos, Llyn Foulkes, and Nina Bovasso move them beyond the comic art panels.Presented through an array of media, this survey of works begins in the mid-20th century and winds its way through five decades, highlighting contemporary artists such as James Barsness, Enrique Chagoya, Ron English, Tom Everhart, Jess Harrold, Gottfried Helnwein, Josè Ramón Lerma, David Gilhooly, and Suzanne Morlock, who have and continue to adopt comic art images and themes in their work.

Pop’d from the Panel is co-curated by Schulz Museum curator, Jane O’Cain, and Professor of Art History at Sonoma State University, Michael Schwager.